Honoring No. 42

Today is a very special day if you're a Jackie Robinson fan. Today marks the 61st anniversary of Robinson's entrance into Major League Baseball. Robinson, as you may recall, was responsible for breaking baseball's color barrier. As Martin Luther King noted, Jackie was a "freedom rider before there were freedom rides." His contribution to the civil rights movement, well before it occurred, is documented in history books across the country. Today also celebrates the 35th anniversary of the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

For those of you who do not know much about the Jackie Robinson Foundation, it was started by his wife in honor of Jackie's humanitarian efforts. The foundation provides four- year college scholarships for African American students. They have given 1,200 kids a college education and their graduation rate is remarkable: 97.5% of the students that receive a Jackie Robinson scholarship graduate from college. Compared to the 40.5% national graduation rate for African American's proves why this program is making a difference for the future of this country's youth.

This is a story that I am very proud to tell you about. This morning Della Britton Baeza, the president & CEO of the Jackie Robinson Foundation and Bob Dupay, the president & COO of Major League Baseball joined me to talk about the progress made and plans for the future. In ballparks across the country over 300 players will be wearing the No. 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson today. This morning Della and Bob announced, for the first time, that all 30 Major League Baseball clubs will sponsor one Jackie Robinson scholar to honor this 35th Anniversary. Take a look at the video. It will inspire you. I promise

This quote says it all:

"Jackie was about setting an example, and it is expected of these kids," Baeza said. "These 259 people we describe as ambassadors of Jackie Robinson, carrying the torch. And we require our scholars to do community service. You have to write a report every year and have to quantify the number of lives you have touched, you know, 'Life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives,' Jackie's famous quote. We say to them, 'How many people's lived did you touch?' So, they are our foot soldiers who spread the values we have exposed to them and endeavor to convey what Jackie Robinson and Rachel Robinson have exhibited: discipline, integrity, courage, perseverance, will for excellence." ~By Jack O'Connell from MLB. com